Despite All Oppositions, the Regime in Tehran is Dedicated to Destroy Naqsh-e Rostam

Reports like this make me so sad - and angry - and frustrated! From CAIS August 4, 2007: LONDON, (CAIS) -- Despite all oppositions made so far by Iranians and Iran’s Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts, and Tourism Organization (ICHHTO) against construction of Esfahan-Shiraz railway by the Islamic Republic only in 300-meter away from Naqsh-e Rostam historic site. Based on earlier agreements between authorities of Islamic Republic’s Ministry of Road and Transportation and ICHHTO, the project of Esfahan-Shiraz railway was due to change its path and be constructed with the maximum distance from Naqsh-e Rostam to cause the least harm to this historic site. However, its seems by purchasing the farmlands in vicinity of Naqsh-e Rostam and marking the path of the railway, the regime is pursuing their original plan. Prior to this, after revising the suggested route by Ministry of Road and Transportation, the technical council of ICHHTO decided that the path for construction the railroad must change. Experts of ICHHTO have previously warned that the powerful jolts caused by train would have a harmful effect on the historic monuments in the area - train vibrations would eventually damage Naqsh-e Rostam monument, and ensures the destruction of Ka’aba of Zoroaster less than ten-years. Considering that Pars-e Pasargadae Research Centre is determined to prepare the ground for registration of Naqsh-e Rostam in list of UNESCO’s World Heritage site, as annex of Persepolis world heritage site, construction of the railway in such a close distance of this historic site would ruin the chance of world registration of this Achaemenid site forever. UNESCO asked the regime in Tehran to give an explanation about construction of the railway near Naqsh-e Rostam in the 31st session of World Heritage Committee. Located in Iranian Fars province, 12 kilometer distance of Persepolis, Naqsh-e Rostam contains four tombs belonging to Achaemenid dynastic emperors which were carved out of the rock. Ka’aba of Zoroaster bears number of inscription belong to Parthian and Sasanian dynastic eras. Since the coming of theocratic regime to power in Iran, the regime leaders have dedicated themselves to restructure Iranian culture and history. Many pre-Islamic historical and archaeological sites have been devastated under the cover of development projects: destroyed as part of highway and railway track construction; contaminated irreparably by chemical factories; undermined by nearby hotels; obliterated as part of mining; or submerged beneath dam reservoirs.